Re: More Combat Options

[Elijah Meeks <elijahmeeks at yahoo dot com>]

> Possibly. It's not just a matter of adding a global,
> though. The current
> model 1 attack code runs a while loop until one unit
> is dead. To make this
> a step by step procedure, one would have to think
> through the consequences
> carefully. Shouid each round of attack cost acps and
> thus require a new
> turn? This would slow down the game a lot, unless
> the hit points are
> reduced.
> 

Since it would default to true, there shouldn't be a
problem with existing games, and designers building
games with this in mind would make sure to adjust hit
points and such for game balance.

> >Anybody have any desire to make any major changes
> to
> >the combat system?
> 
> I've been planning to change the model 0 code so
> that it can use absolute
> attack and defend values like the model 1 code
> instead of this cumbersome
> hit-chance table. This would make it easier to write
> new model 0 games and
> also make it easier to improve the AI (for those
> games, at least).

I'd rate this as an equal, if not better, solution
than adding the global to Model 1.  I just want the
chance to use Attack and Defend values in a one-shot
manner, a la Model 0.  Would this include the feature
you use in Third Age to improve a unit's Attack or
Defend value?  

> 
> >How are the neural nets and 3D units coming along?
> 
> As far as I recall, those were some of the many
> ideas that were bounced
> around last year. I don't think anybody is working
> on it, though.

I forgot that 3D units and neural nets were actually
discussed last year, and meant them only as a joke,
like saying, "Gee, guys, since you've already
rewritten the whole game in Eiffel to include speech
recognition, the least you could do is change the
combat system..."

> 
> P.S. Did you do any more work on the Korea game?
> 

I haven't touched it since the last, posted release. 
There was what I considered a fatal flaw in the AI's
use of firing units as well as some problem with
implementing the treasury and some basic inabilities
on the part of in-game units, all of which resulted in
an unplayable game.  I finally went back and rewrote
the entire scenario, in the hopes of squashing
whatever bug I'd put in it (Because I've seen firing
units work fine, and I've written games where the
treasury works) but with no luck.  I decided to stop
working on Xconq for a while after that.  But, when
the next Widnows package is released, I'm going to
give it a once-over, see if anything has changed, and
try to get it working right.

What I'd really like to do, though, with regard to the
Combat Options, is rewrite Specula with Attack and
Defend values.  I think that would give it a more
Role-playing feel, which it's supposed to have.  To
keep requests going, if the old transport combat is
revamped, then I'll be able to get Cast Iron Life into
some kind of playable shape.  Jesus, I do a good job
of writing 3/4 complete games and then making 1000
requests, don't I?



	
		
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